U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,921 discloses a child-resistant closure, container and package in which the closure is a dual-wall closure having an inner wall with internal threads for receipt on a container finish and an outer wall for enclosing the child-resistance structure. The outer wall has diametrically opposed gaps, and finger pads extend from the inner wall in alignment with the gaps. When the closure is threaded clockwise onto the finish of the container, the finger pads cam inside of lugs on the shoulder of the container. Stop faces on the lugs prevent counterclockwise removal of the closure unless the finger pads are squeezed radially inwardly so that the pads clear the insides of the lugs. It is a general object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant closure, container and package that embody one or more improvements on the closure, container and package disclosed in the noted patent.
A child-resistant package in accordance with one aspect of the present includes a container having a finish with at least one external thread (or thread segment), at least one axial lug on a shoulder spaced from the thread and an external abutment on the finish adjacent to the lug. A closure of integrally molded plastic construction includes a base wall, a peripheral outer wall, and an inner wall spaced from the outer wall and having at least one internal thread (or thread segment) for securement to the container finish. The outer wall has diametrically opposed gaps, and the inner wall extends axially in radial alignment with the gaps for circumferential abutment with the at least one lug on the container. The inner wall is flexible inwardly for clearing the lug between the lug and the external abutment, and for permitting removal of the closure from the container finish. The external abutment preferably is in the form of an external bead that extends circumferentially around the finish in alignment with an edge of the lug.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the child-resistant closure has external ribs on the finger pads that extend from the inner wall of the closure. The ribs do not extend entirely to the bottom of the finger pads, so that the bottoms of the pads can clear the lugs on the container shoulder beneath the ribs, while the ribs prevent the fingers of a user from stubbing on the container lugs. The ribs also increase the mechanical advantage on pressing the pads radially inwardly to clear the lugs, which can assist elderly users in removing the closure. The ribs have an additional advantage in that, by extending the ribs upwardly along the outer surface of the pads and the inner wall, the finger pads can be made stiffer for different sizes or different materials of the closure. The ends of the ribs are interconnected by an arcuate radially outwardly extending shelf to prevent the user's fingers from engaging the ends of the ribs.
A container for a child-resistant package in accordance with a third aspect of the invention includes a body having a finish with at least one external thread, at least one axial lug on a shoulder spaced from the thread and an external abutment on the finish adjacent to the lug. The external abutment in the preferred embodiment includes a circumferential bead radially inwardly aligned with the edge of the lug.